Unattended hydrophones have long been used to monitor marine traffic or seismic phenomena. Usually the hydrophone arrays were prearranged in a preestablished pattern so that meaningful readings of bearings and range, for example, can be obtained; however, considerable effort and time were expended each time an array was so deployed and the separation of the hydrophone elements needed to be a sufficient measured to allow the gathering of more meaningful data.
Another drawback attendant most of the state-of-the-art deployment approaches was that emplacing the array too often could be watched by possibly unfriendly observers. From a military standpoint this is unacceptable, since it is a relatively simple matter to neutralize an unguarded array or so reposition it to gather nonrepresentative data. Although some arrays have been set by submersibles of some sort, the use of a submersible calls for elaborate planning, may not be cost effective and is unduly time consuming. Furthermore, the rather sinister veil associated with some submersibles makes it inadvisable to have them be discovered in some waters. Therefore, there is a continuing need in the state-of-the-art for a method and apparatus for deploying a hydrophone array in a preestablished pattern which is done quickly and covertly.